VN - Ren'Py - Two Sides of the Same Coin [v0.3.2.5] [Dajamtssc]

Review as of 0.3.2.5

I'll preface this review by saying I went in expecting a Lesson In Love-ish style game. That is to say, there will be sandbox, there will be events that you have to grind affection for, and the order will sometimes leave you meandering. If those things turn you away, then this game will not be for you. It will be slow. It will meander. And those are things I enjoy in a story from time to time.

The tone of the game is an overall lighthearted one. There are certain serious topics that are broached, but they happen sporadically. Sometimes they are very effective, sometimes they come across as over-philosophizing. Which brings me to my point of the narrative having lots of ups and downs. For example, there are some great emotional parts to the story, but there are also some cringe self promotions, and some parts that feel like it meanders far from the story just for a "lol so random" conversation. It definitely takes some getting used to, and I let them wash over me instead of getting hung up on them, since honestly, the characters make up a vast majority of my like of this game.

What ultimately interested me in this story were the characters and the mundane way you learn about them. There isn't too large of a cast right now either, which helps with the focus of characterization and their relationships with each other. There are archetypes and stereotypes still, but how we learn about each character is a rather slow process, which is to my liking. There are tons of conversations that aren't meaningful in terms of progressing the story, or even the conversation itself, but it gives you some more insight into who they are, which I found refreshing to read.

Now for the part I'm sure many are interested in: the sexy times. I won't say there is anything astoundingly unique here, nor will I claim the pacing is perfect for each character. Some it happens really early really quickly, with no follow up for some time. Others it feels much more well lead into, with reasonable steps from one to the next. Overall it's decently done, and it didn't detract from the game itself, which is what I was looking for.

Pros

• Fun characters that we slowly learn about and that slowly change
• Emotional connection of the characters to the MC and each other is interesting to read and watch unfold
• Overall story is interesting once it finally gets going
• Nice looking characters

Cons

• Sometimes has jarring "so random" moments, or over-philosophizes
• Sometimes searching for new events is unintuitive, as it can require a lot of high affections that you can only farm on the weekends
• Some minor typos and mistakes, but nothing to take you so far out of the story

Additional

• MC isn't too impactful. What I mean is he doesn't influence lots of decisions, nor is he horribly depraved. Rather, he's understanding, nice, thoughtful, and perceptive, which some people may find boring. I found it suited the story fine
• Consistency of the sexy times might throw some people off. Fast for some, slow for others, and even slower still for a few. It's a bit sporadic

Story 1/5
Story dident really do much for me, MC losing hes memory ends up living with a girl he cant remember, same girl will also be forced on you and i am just not a fan of forced LIs so it lost alot of points on that as well, what makes it more stupid is MC starts out not wanting that kind of a relationship with her and yet he lets her suck him off when he could have stopped her....
More LIs will be forced on MC as well so it seems to be a standing thing.

Then it goes on to show you a dream where MC pretty much gets raped by the girl he lives with, i am just tierd of games using dreams to show you a sex scene atleast add a skip option since its unimporten to the story and only gets annoying if its with a girl you might hate, i did like the girl but if it happens once it can happen again and it does when MC thinks about a lesbian scene....and it also ruins the fun when you get to the point in the story where you can fuck her for real when you already seen one or more sex scenes with LIs.

It also just feels extreemly drawn out, i mean you can sit and read for an hour or more and still have no clue what game is about other then a dude losing hes momery....you could proberly skip around 90% of the dialogs and still not miss out on anything.....

I am not a fan of the MC either, way to much inner dialogs and this MC has two voices which really dosent help since he just talks to him self? its just boring to read, then theres breaking the 4th wall crap which is only annoying, not sure if its supposed to be fun or something but then i just dont get it.

And the annoying thing with not being able to rename MC, i mean hiding hes ID why? is MC so brainless that he cant call the hospital or check hes mailbox, call the landlady, hes workplace or a million other ways to figure out hes name......
But in any case you will never be able to change MCs name so in other words he will never have one in this game, its just idiotic.

And so many fake choices, i almost thought it was changing when you got the chance to break up with Kaede, but then MC freaking ends up saying it was just a joke.....well game is truely a joke.

As for sex scenes there are only a sinlge one plus one in a dream which is pretty much just a repeat of one another, so theres no real point in playing for that either.

Girls 4/5
I liked most of the girls which is a bit annoying since game became unplayable.

Animations 3/5
Pretty standard HS stuff which is decent enough to enjoy.

Music 3/5
Its ok nothing special but atleast it changes every now and then so its not just the same tune all the time.

Choices 1/5
There are very few and it has forced LIs so yeah, it makes the story feel very kinetic as well and it has the most idiotic choices you will see aka the fake kind, it gives you a choice to fuck a girl whos sick with a fever or not to fuck her, personaly i wouldent want to fuck her in that state what so ever, so clicking not to fuck he it tells you thats not a possible choice? then it ask you "Tell me...How does it feel to be directed by only one possible path"

Well ill tells ya, it feels like shit and game becomes garbage, add the kinetic tag so people who hate kinetic shit dosent have to waste time playing it.

And yes i did quit after that happened, tried to just fast forward with skips to see it change to some weird kind of sandbox thing i guess which dident help game in any way either, it has no questlog so you have no clue what to click at what time and so on, you have a relationship system which makes 0 sense when it forces LIs on you anyway and no relationship page to see what scores are with a girl....

I will never be able to understand why someone makes fake choices in a game, i cant belive many if any finds that even remotely fun...pick a choice to break up with someone to have MC change it and say it was just a joke.... whats the point.

For what's it's worth, out of the Lessons in Love inspired games I've played (so far), I feel like this one has perhaps the best writing and arguably the most interesting characters overall. Keep in mind tho, this game and others of this type are not made for just rubbing one out. It's more about getting attached to the characters, and most of the characters here are unique enough to stand out. Even the stereotypical Tsundere.

The plot hasn't really gone anywhere yet (v0.2.5.5), but it seems like at least the characters have actual reasons for why they do things, such as keep secrets, instead of just being forced to by the writer in order to cause drama or prolong things. The reasons actually make sense as well, at least within the plot. There's also been a few decisions that will actually matter later on, according to the game itself. In other words, the game knows where it wants to go. So far, anyway. It also seems like love interests you get with will be presumably optional, which is nice.

The only thing I actually dislike is that there is no repeatable sex scenes at all (or at least I can't find them). The dialogue isn't perfect, but they are juggling japanese, spanish, and english terms and cultures (?) within the plot and the characters, with even some characters being racist at times (because they are meant to be). So, imperfection is to be expected especially for a game that has a lot to say and up to three languages to say it in. Still, back to the repeatable sex scenes... well to sum it up it's immersive breaking when you take into account that 3 months have gone by since you optionally last had sex with a girl who is clearly ready to go whenever you want and there's no reason why you couldn't. Of course, it could just not have been implemented yet, and in that case this game will be pretty solid for what it wants to be, when it is.

So, 4 stars for when the repeatable stuff gets added on hopefully in a retcon kind of way. 3 stars if they never do, but we do get some repeatable stuff eventually. Now, there is a gallery and events can be replayed in the girl events menus, but if I can't just call up or visit a girl when I want, it's a little too immersive breaking for my taste.

Overall, if you're looking for a Lessons in Love type game that isn't as "scary" (yet), and has quite a bit of potential for what it is, I'd definitely recommend checking this out.

Oh another game where the MC loses his memory, long overdue....

Note, complaining about the plot and characters contains a lot of spoilers.

Rating: 1
Immediately minus for the loss of the protagonist's memory.
Graphically, there is nothing to complain about
Story, stiff, no sense.
Characters, annoying
Music, monotonous
Dialogues, long and pointless
Overall opinion of the game, weak